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Robert Harris
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$5.50
That would be the approximate cost per disc to own all nine films in Warner Home Video's latest gift to the community of film aficionados.
Born To Dance, Lady Be Good, Broadway Melody Of 1936, Broadway Melody Of 1938, Deep In My Heart, Hit The Deck, Kismet, Nancy Goes To Rio and Two Weeks With Love.
All beautifully transferred to standard definition DVD, and with each disc filled with extras. These include some of the great musicals of the era.
The first disc that caught my eye?
Deep in My Heart, a musical biopic of Sigmund Romberg as played by Jose Ferrer.
One seldom sees an early color (read: problematic) production to have such gorgeous colors and tonalities. Verging on the Technicolor look, this production needs to be seen to be believed.
And at the cost per film?
A steal.
BTW, this set returns to the use of slim cases, which I greatly prefer to the clunky, space consuming black plastic cases of the last century.
Highly Recommended.
RAH
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." T.E. Lawrence
- Joined: February 2007
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Re: A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3
Did the Nancy Goes to Rio DVD include the deleted number Sheboygan. I never seen the number but I heard it has been shown on TCM.
I am disappointed that Warners decided to hold back the individual releases till August but in the end thats ok my wallet could use a break since I'm a broke college student. As long as Warners is releasing them I really can't complain!
Most Wanted on DVD: Little Nellie Kelly (1940), Bachelor Mother (1939), Tin Pan Alley (1940), Mother Wore Tights (1947), Easy to Love (1953), The Devil and Miss Jones (1941), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), Penelope (1966), The Opposite Sex (1956), Lovely to Look At (1952), Naughty...
- Joined: February 2001
- Location: Livonia, MI USA
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Re: A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3
I have watched all titles in this set except for "Two Weeks with Love" which I hope to get through tonight, after which I will have "a few [too many] words" of my own.
Since I will not make street date, I'll spoil some of my review in this thread.
As good as the picture is on "Deep in My Heart", and it is every bit as good as Robert indicated, the 5.0 audio mix may be even better. The orchestra sounds absolutely beautiful. They must have found some very high quality source elements from which to start on the mix. Some vocals sound better recorded than others, but overall, I was very impressed.
When I read the press material that indicated that the three widescreen titles received significant restorations while the six titles in the double feature cases (every title gets its own disc, but the older Eleanor Powell and Jane Powell titles are paired in double disc cases) did not. I was worried that this was going to be a Tom and Jerry situation where they pulled video transfers off the shelf for the 4:3 titles, but that is far from the case. The eight titles I have seen all appear to have gotten brand new transfers from either restored or best available elements. All of the black and white titles have good detail and solid greyscale and are only limited by some element wear and tear ("Broadway Melody of 1938" carries a little more source element damage and density fluctuation than its "...1936" predecessor, for instance).
"Nancy Goes to Rio" is a very nice rendering of the Technicolor film on video with near-perfect registration. It is a bit weak in the audio department, though, sounding like it may have been sourced from an optical print. Per the question above, there are no deleted numbers on "Nancy Goes to Rio".
Regards,
Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
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CineKarine
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Re: A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3
I will be getting this fabulous set for my birthday in 19 days
. I love every single title in this collection, my very favorite being Two Weeks with Love (50), a wonderfully cheerful slice of nostalgia with delightful performances by all. I cannot wait to see these films on DVD!!!
EDIT: Just found a review
here
Sing your worries away, smile, be kind and accentuate the positive!
DVD wish list: The Accused (48), Margie (46), I'll Get By (50), The Constant Nymph (43), The Voice of the Turtle (47), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (34), Her Twelve Men (54), The Lost Moment (47), I Walk Alone (48), The Glass...
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Robert Harris
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Re: A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3
I can offer a bit more information which will tie in with Ken's discussion and answer some additional questions.
All of these films are from finest surviving elements, and occasional mixing, matching and borrowing has occurred to upgrade element by element.
Here are the facts:
BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936 is derived from the original nitrate negative.
Most of the MGM B&W negatives were lost in the GEH fire. This one was thought to have been gone as well, but happily was found to be intact. This is from the OCN and nitrate track neg.
B'WAY MEL 38, BORN TO DANCE, and LADY BE GOOD no longer have OCNs, but new HD masters were produced from preservation safety fine grains made from the OCNs by MGM in the ‘70s before the OCNs were sent to GEH and lost in the fire.
DEEP IN MY HEART is derived from the Original Ansco negative. I had made the incorrect assumption that it was early Eastman Color, and was extremely surprised by the results. This sets that proper fact in place, and my earlier notes stand corrected. A new HD 16x9 transfer was created.
The film was released mono, but a new 5.1 mix was made from original mixing log notes for intended stereo track. Original 35mm LCR mags from pre-recording sessions used to create the track per original logs.
HIT THE DECK and KISMET, new 16x9 2.55 HD transfers using Eastman Color OCNs and separation masters to create new elements. New 5.1 transfers created from original 35mm LCR music stems and separate dialogue and effects track. Original 4 track theatrical mixes also retained. Comparison between the two reveals less high end on the 4 track print master, and more hiss.
Both tracks included on DVD for consumer reference.
Other points of interest:
The HOLLYWOOD HOTEL radio program… live coverage of BORN TO DANCE premiere 11/13/36. Program does not survive in complete form, but Warner Home Video located additional material not circulating among collectors.
GOOD NEWS OF 1938 radio program on BROADWAY MELODY OF 1938 is very rare. It is not circulating among radio collectors.
NANCY GOES TO RIO: The original audio does not survive, and the surviving English audio track is very flat sounding. French audio track had more vibrancy. WHV accessed the French track (songs in English of course) for music, to improve sonics on musical sequences.
TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE: The nitrate OCN was also lost in Eastman House fire. Seps used to create new dupe, but Seps had problems. They did the best they could, but there is grain and wear that could not be fixed.
The bottom line is that although packaged at a bargain price, this is not a set that has been slapped together from old element. A HUGE investment has been made, which in my humble opinion needs the support of the consumer base, if more work along these lines is going to be performed.
My hat is off to WHV on this one, which cannot be allowed to fall between the cracks.
RAH
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." T.E. Lawrence
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Re: A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3
Great information as always, Robert. Thanks!
At least one of the B&W separations on "Two Weeks with Love" seems to have some density fluctuations on certain reels as the color sometimes shifts every few seconds. Considering this limitation, they did a good job of smoothing it out in the video domain and making things match from scene to scene. I suppose if someone had countless hours and unlimited funds, they could manually correct it with digital tools, but I'm not sure that they would achieve enough of an improvement to make it worth the effort.
Regards,
Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
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Re: A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3
It's too bad about TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE; my mother has been crying for this on DVD for years. But she'll be happy to get it even if the elements aren't optimal.
- Joined: March 2006
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Re: A few words about...™ Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory - Volume 3
Why is this so expensive on Amazon now? I had this on pre-order, but since I lost my credit card, I had to cancel it. Now, I can't get it when it was $48.99
Corey's most wanted R1 dvds:
Little Darlings (1980), My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Deep Blue Sea (1955), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), Born to Be Bad (1950), Ivy (1947), Reckless (1935), Springtime in the Rockies (1942), The Barretts of Wimpole Street
